Tonight (2017-10-02) was a meeting of the Honeoye Falls Planning Board.
And the theme of the meeting was ‘attention to details’. Every i must be dotted, and every t crossed. No exceptions. While I don’t agree with many of the details, I do find the boards attempt to deliberately apply all rules equally to everyone a commendable act. But the devil is ever in the details.
The ongoing saga of Muffy’s attempt to divide her property did not continue tonight. Somehow, despite all the previous meetings, another form had to be submitted before action could be taken. Considering Muffy wasn’t in attendance, hopefully she had been informed long enough in advance so that it didn’t inconvenience her too much. Even then, her absence was almost the most interesting part of the meeting.
Two (mostly) quick and simple addition requests were granted. One for the McGory’s and one for the Zion’s. More attention on what I would consider irrelevant details then necessary, but it is consistent with the flavor this board is developing. And every board does have it’s own flavor. At least the requests were granted.
Ryan was back again for his storage units, this time under the name NOTMI. Apparently this was the first time the application was being ‘formally’ considered, instead of as a ‘concept’. Either way, much good discussion, although in the end missing details were noted and approval was pushed off to the next meeting.
I will give the board credit though, they asked the questions I would have once I looked at the maps. Namely: what happens to the old railroad bed and how is access to Norton street handled. Turns out most (all?) of the railroad bed will be repurposed as foundation materials for the storage buildings. I understand the economic benefits of this, but I’ll miss the de facto trail the railroad bed has been over the years. As for access, for now it will be a driveway, but if/when the rest of the property is developed it will be reworked as a road. If it was me, I’d make it the road now, but I guess Ryan isn’t confident enough for the future development. On both issues, while I don’t agree with him, I approve of the property owner using his property in this manner.
One of the details that came up was about wells and leach fields. Apparently section V.14.g. requires all wells/leach fields nearby be located. Yet, according to the code enforcement officer, there are no wells/leach fields in the village. Which makes sense, as the village has water and sewer available. But the requirement still exists. Goes back to the underlying issue of ‘details’. When they are reasonable following them is just and proper. But when rules fail a sanity check, they become unjust and improper. Leaving us with the question: What do we do when our government (and the rules it operates with) are unjust and improper?
Next up was an interesting back and forth about what ended up not being an agenda item. Or put differently: because the information on the ‘change of use’ for 12 North Main was not delivered to the board until the applicant arrived, they felt they could not offer a decision tonight. I can’t fault that logic. Don’t want to make a hasty decision, want time to consider and ponder before being put on the spot. And it is the applicant’s responsibility to get the information to the board before the meeting. Still, would have been nice if the applicant knew there wouldn’t be a discussion before showing up tonight.
And finally, the most interesting part of the meeting. One of the board members was looking for board approval to build a deck. I’ve wondered before how board members requests would be handled. Unfortunately, in this case, it wasn’t. As he could not vote on his own application, there were not enough other members present to have a vote. Another application deferred to the next meeting. On the plus side, the meeting should already be on his schedule.
And those are my Observations From Audience Land for the October 2nd, 2017 meeting of the Honeoye Falls Planning Board.
Link to agenda on Village website.
Link to agenda stored on this site, should the village lose their copy.